


Rolling Star

by Slackergami



Category: Sylvaina - Fandom, World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't @ Me, F/F, Oneshot, boxing au, idk how to write, two women punching each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 18:50:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18430001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slackergami/pseuds/Slackergami
Summary: Jaina Proudmoore challenges the World Boxing Champ, Valeera Sanguinar, to a match.





	Rolling Star

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder: I'm not really a writer :^)
>
>> Warning: Don't read ahead if you're a boxing/MMA buff because a lot of things in this oneshot is sure to have inconsistencies and will probably drive u nuts if u continue :3c 
> 
> If you're here for Sylvaina, skip ahead to the end lmao :')))
> 
> This is for all the anons and nice ppl who have clogged my Tumblr inbox. The Boxing AU is inspired by jawlipops' Brawler!Jaina.  
> And big thanks to IceFairyChiruno for refining my oneshot. My writing is very crude.

The sound of cheering faded into the distance. Jaina fell on her side onto the canvas, her opponent's left hook having dealt the felling blow. Stars danced momentarily in front of her eyes; she blinked them away, as the referee kneeling before her began the count.

" _One!_ "

Jaina rolled to lie on her back.

“ _Two!_ ” She looked up to the ceiling, past the blinding lights and closed her eyes, catching her breath.

“ _Three! Four! Five..._ ” Jaina waited, biding her time. Before the referee reached the count to ten, she propped herself up, quickly jumping to her feet. The crowd let loose a huge cheer in response. Jaina resumed her stance, feet shoulder-width apart, left foot forward, shoulders hunched over. She kept both fists raised, guarding her face closely but leaving enough room to keep her gaze trained on her opponent.

The referee stepped back and the two women resumed their fight. Jaina's opponent was a Blood Elf. Her long blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail, fel green eyes and she had a devilish grin on her face.  

Valeera Sanguinar, also called the Crimson Assassin, was known for her lightning, quick jabs, and superior hand speed and reflexes. Her fleet footwork made it difficult for opponents to corner her against the ropes, let alone land more than a punch on her.

Blood Elves were taller than humans. Valeera had a longer reach over Jaina, forcing the latter to take a defensive stance in order to stand a chance. Not only that, but the elf facing her down in the ring was blazingly fast. Valeera had bobbed and weaved expertly, evading nearly every punch thrown in the previous rounds up until now.

Valeera had succeeded in knocking Jaina down just now because she had let her guard down. The elf had been stepping into striking distance to launch the offensive, but before Jaina could capitalise and return with a counter-blow, her opponent simply back-stepped out of Jaina’s reach.

 

 

_DING! DING! DING!_

The bell signalled the end of the third round. “ _She's slippery”_ , Jaina thought as she slumped down on her stool and felt fabric wiping off her sweat.

"Jaina, are you alright?" Sylvanas asked. The High Elf coach slipped in through the ropes, concern etched on her face as she wiped down Jaina with a towel.

Jaina nodded, removing her mouthpiece. "She's so fast. Too fast for me. She’s got so much _speed_. That last hit caught me by surprise and I lost my footing."

Sylvanas gripped Jaina's shoulders, "You’re smart. Just remember to keep a close eye on her. _Study her,_ Jaina.”

 _Study her._ That was all Jaina had been doing these last few months, after deciding to take on the World Champ. She watched and studied Valeera from tape recordings Sylvanas had collected. She was aware of the Champ’s lightning speed, of how she used it to bring down those who had challenged her. How they never saw her coming.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Sylvanas gently patted Jaina’s back, slipped back through the ropes and removed the stool from their corner. Jaina rose, biting down on her mouthpiece once again.

The two fighters walked to the centre of the ring and assumed their stances. Jaina tensed up, assuming her peek-a-boo style of defense once again. Valeera, however, kept shoulders relaxed. She slipped into her famous “blade dance” of fleet footwork, circling Jaina, taunting her, challenging her to step in for a quick hit.

Jaina saw past the ruse, the lowered guard. With Valeera oozing this much pressure, she knew she couldn’t be lured in. Jaina couldn’t make a move.

“Problem, Proudmoore?” Valeera’s jab sliced past the side of the younger woman’s head. Missing her mark, Valeera threw another. A left, a right, a left and a right again. She sidestepped, throwing a left and right once more. The Crimson Assassin was raining down a flurry of jabs at her contender. Jaina was struggling to dodge them all. “You’re not looking so good,” the Blood Elf teased. She closed in on Jaina’s side, shifting her weight to her forward foot to deliver a blow at her liver.

Jaina guarded as well as she could, but the blow struck home. She buckled, reeling from the sharp pain at her side. Feeling the ropes behind her, Jaina knew she needed to make a move before Valeera could pin her down further.

Jaina relaxed her guard, keeping her fists close to her face, her elbows still tucked in. She advanced back towards Valeera and went on the offensive. She threw a left jab, and another, and more straight lefts, but the Crimson Assassin dodged each of Jaina’s punches. Jaina pushed forward anyway, watching, _learning_ , until she noticed her opponent’s tell-tale shift of weight, signalling she was readying a counter-attack.

Jaina hunched slightly over to her right, dodging Valeera’s left hook to her head, which barely grazed her. Seeing Valeera’s body left open and unguarded, Jaina rooted her left foot into the canvas, coiled her left arm back then sprung it forward, twisting her hips in motion to deliver a straight blow to the elf’s abdomen.

The Blood Elf stumbled backwards, feeling the air escape her lungs. She gasped, her eyes dimming in momentary shock. If it hadn’t been for her lightning quick reflexes, Valeera would be lying on her back right now. She’d been nimble enough to back away out of the full blow, but even a glancing hit like that _hurt_ . Proudmoore’s punches were hard; letting her connect her blows would be almost fatal. She needed to end the match _quick_.

While Valeera was still reeling from the pain and catching her breath, Jaina found her opening and struck again. Valeera was quick enough to raise her guard but Jaina dived low, delivering a full and painful blow to the elf’s forearm, pushing her opponent further back. The Crimson Assassin found herself backed up against the ropes but recovered enough to sidestep Jaina’s next swing at her.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Round Four was over. The crowd roared at Jaina’s momentary comeback and at Valeera’s quick escape. Valeera flashed the shorter woman a dangerous grin before turning to walk to her corner. Waiting in the blue corner was a smiling Sylvanas as she placed a stool for Jaina.

“You’re doing well”, she said, wiping down Jaina’s sweat with a towel. “You broke through her guard and nearly pinned her but not enough time to really do damage. This next round, she’ll take you more seriously now, so tread carefully.”

“I know,” Jaina leaned back against the post, slowing her breathing. “I’m glad I caught her and at least one of my punches connected. She’ll be even more slippery, more difficult to catch this time”, she huffed.

Sylvanas smiled, giving Jaina a gentle squeeze on her thigh as she got up.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Both boxers returned to the centre of the ring. The referee stepped back as the two combatants launched themselves into Round Five. The crowd let out an audible ‘oooh’, sensing the fight accelerate in pace from the previous round. Jaina lunged at Valeera, continuing her straight left barrage while the elf skillfully dodged her blows.

Once again, the elf shifted her weight, ready to counter-attack and Jaina responded by repeating her maneuver from the previous round. But this time Valeera was prepared. She deftly sidestepped, and with Jaina’s chin prone during her left’s mid-attack, the elf threw a punch at the smaller woman’s head.

_A feint._

Jaina stumbled backwards. The punch connected, but the Crimson Assassin had missed Jaina’s jaw. Valeera frowned. Jaina’s defense was good alright, but from the way she recoiled from the hit, that blow was sure to have dealt some damage.

Blood trickled down the side of Jaina’s head where Valeera’s punch had struck. Jaina however would not let it phase her. She stood steady, electric blue eyes brimming with determination to bring her foe, the World Champion, down.  

The elf gave Jaina a smirk, her expression remaining confident, almost smug. “Well done, Proudmoore. But still not good enough.” Valeera attacked again, peppering her opponent with a left-right combination. Jaina put up her usual defensive stance, doing her best bobbing and weaving, dodging as many hits as possible. After a few long seconds, Jaina noticed the Crimson Assassin slowing down, allowing the shorter woman to evade her hits a little more easily. Valeera’s punches were strong, but Jaina remained resilient to the barrage, her guard holding strong. 

Jaina dodged yet another punch and countered Valeera with one of her own, but the Blood Elf was still simply too fast, easily evading in turn. Valeera’s green eyes glinted with mischief, and instantly Jaina could sense the trouble she was in, but do little to react in time.

Valeera planted her right foot in front of Jaina’s left. Jaina was in an awkward position to retaliate or block. The full force of Valeera’s right hook sent Jaina crashing into the canvas. 

 _A switch-hit! Valeera’s Unorthodox Southpaw stance._  

The referee ran to Jaina’s side and started the count. _ONE!_ Valeera stood back with a smug grin on her face. _TWO!_ Proudmoore laid still. _THREE!_ She clenched and unclenched her hands, still feeling the tremor of the punch in her right when she gave Jaina her right hook.

 _FOUR!_ Jaina propped herself up. The crowd roared. She was on her knees still, barely, and struggling to get up. 

 _FIVE!_ Valeera watched as her opponent wearily placed a foot on the ground, a glove on her thigh, bracing herself and slowly rising.

 _SIX!_ The count continued, all Jaina needed now was to show the referee her fighting stance.

 _SEVEN!_ Jaina was breathing heavily, staggering, but steadying herself, bit by bit.

 _EIGHT!_ Jaina lifted her fists, exhaled strongly, and nodded at the referee.

 _BOX!_  

The referee stepped back. Valeera slid into Jaina’s space and landed some left-rights on the smaller woman. Jaina took the hits but did not back down. Jaina inched closer to Valeera, throwing a powerful swing but it didn’t connect. She threw in some left-rights but none of Jaina’s punches were connecting. She was striking air. 

Valeera couldn’t help but put on smirk during their one-sided exchange. She found the smaller woman’s pitiful attempts to land a hit on her most amusing.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Round Five was over. Jaina fell back to her side of the ring and leaned back against the post, allowing herself to be sprayed with water then being patted down by Sylvanas. Jaina removed her mouthpiece, gargled some water that Sylvanas offered and spat it out into an empty bucket.

Sylvanas carefully cleaned Jaina’s wound, placing an ice pack over the side of the fighter’s left eye. “The cut’s not too deep,” she said, still wiping the torrent of sweat from Jaina’s body. “But your eye will become swollen before too long. You _need_ to finish this fight.”

“She brought out that stance,” Jaina gasped. “I know I prepared for it but…” Jaina’s voice trailed off. She was drawing heavy breaths, annoyed with herself for not being able to adapt. Valeera was already hard to catch, but she is _so_ _much harder to catch now_ , with this stance change. Her switch made it difficult to gauge the distance between them, and from this new distance her jabs were throwing Jaina off-rhythm.

“You know what to do,” Sylvanas reassured.

_DING! DING! DING!_

“I do,” Jaina replied. She took in the mouthpiece, readying herself once again for another round.

Valeera retained her Unorthodox Southpaw stance, a smug look plastered over her face. The Blood Elf now had a greater reach advantage over Jaina, but that didn’t seem to bother the smaller woman as she dashed in to close the distance between them.

Jaina threw a flurry of straight lefts at her opponent, but Valeera dodged them with ease, keeping a fair distance. The Blood Elf countered the next punch, hitting Jaina straight in her face, but without enough body weight behind it, the blow did little to deter Jaina’s advance. The shorter fighter kept the pressure up, gradually pushing her opponent back into the ropes.

Jaina dove low. The Blood Elf immediately guarded by clamping her forearms together, hunching over enough to cover her chin with her fists, her body with her arms. But Jaina’s punch was so powerful that it rammed right through the Crimson Assassin’s guard. Now left wide open to another attack, Jaina immediately threw a left jab. Valeera leaned back against the ropes and narrowly evaded, sending a right check hook to Jaina’s head. Her right foot pivoted, allowing her to shift away from the ropes while stopping her opponent dead in her tracks.

For the third time during the entire match, Jaina found herself kissing the canvas and the referee sliding to her side once more. She gritted her teeth against her mouthpiece as the count started.

 _ONE!_ Valeera was just full of surprises, wasn’t she?

 _TWO!_ No... Valeera was just skilled. She was the World Champ defending her title, how could Jaina expect any less of her?

 _THREE!_ Maybe it was okay to lose. She had made it all the way to the world fighting stage after all.

 _FOUR!_ Maybe she could just sleep. After coming this far, she deserved it...

 _FIVE!_ “ _Get up, Jaina!_ ” Sylvanas’ voice reached her. Jaina felt heavy. Her body almost refused to respond.

 _SIX!_ Jaina stood but stumbled. She grasped at ropes shakily to support herself.

 _SEVEN!_ Jaina looked up, trying to focus her gaze at her opponent, who seemed almost as tired as her.

 _EIGHT!_ No. That was exactly it. Having made it this far, there was no way Jaina could back down now. She still had _that move_ up her sleeve...

 _NINE!_ Jaina forced her fists up to her face. The referee took one hard look at Jaina before signalling the fighters to resume their ferocious battle.

_BOX!_

Valeera knew Jaina was at her limit. Her contender had kissed the canvas thrice during the entire match. She could win by points. She probably had enough stamina to last through the whole twelve rounds, as long as she was careful enough to evade Proudmoore’s hard hits and keep her at a distance.

_Or…_

She could aim to bring Proudmoore down. If she could do that twice more this round, Valeera would win by knockdowns alone. If not, there were still chances in later rounds. By this point, Proudmoore’s body should’ve been too heavy for her do much. The smaller woman looked like she could almost fall asleep standing up. Her left eye was swollen, blood drying to form a grisly scab around the wound Valeera had given her in the earlier rounds.

The Crimson Assassin rushed in, determined to end the match, to not give Jaina any more chances to recover. Jaina put on a tight guard, taking in Valeera’s jabs, but her footing remained firm, her strong stance preventing her from being pushed back. Valeera went for body blows, aiming for Jaina to eventually lower guard enough to attack her head. Sure enough, the smaller woman lowered her arms bit by bit to protect her body. Valeera jumped at the opportunity to throw in a left hook.

But Jaina immediately dove right into Valeera’s space. The Blood Elf’s eyes widened in shock. She had already committed to her left hook, unable to pull herself away from Jaina’s devastating right uppercut.

The crowd roared as uppercut struck, sending the Crimson Assassin’s chin skywards, her head thrown back. Jaina followed up with a left hook to the head. But Valeera was the World Champion – she would not be knocked down so easily. Valeera hooked her right arm against the other woman’s shoulders, her left arm looped around Jaina’s right upper arm, leaning in against her opponent to stall her.

Jaina struggled to pull away from Valeera’s clinch. The referee ran to their side, pulling both fighters away from one another.

Valeera tried to snap out of her haze as she struggled to raise her fists up. The challenger advanced to encroach into the Champion’s space, but Valeera couldn’t maintain the distance. Her legs were frozen, she was rooted in place until the ringing in her head began to dim. The stadium cheered raucously as both fighters started hammering blows at each other once again, neither showing signs of backing down despite Jaina’s grogginess and Valeera still somewhat stunned from the previous hook.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Jaina fell into her corner. Sylvanas quickly slipped through the ropes, immediately spraying the tired fighter with water and beginning to pat her down. Jaina was breathing heavily. She removed her mouthpiece with a bitter grimace — her mouth and throat felt dry as she furiously gargled and spat the water her coach offered.

“Sylvanas… I--”

“Save your breath,” the High Elf cut her off. “You’ll need it for the final round.”

 _Tides, she’s right_. Jaina could only nod, catching her breath and relishing the short, blissful reprieve during their Seconds. Sylvanas tenderly replaced the ice pack over the fighter’s swollen eye, as Jaina tilted her head to the side, watching the Champion rest in her red corner. Kneeling in front of Valeera was another Blood Elf. Broad shoulders, and short brown hair tied into a ponytail from what Jaina could make out. It was a real struggle to see clearly with her swollen left eye. She turned away, shutting her eyes, resolving instead to refocus and rest for the round ahead.

_DING! DING! DING!_

Jaina walked back to the centre of the ring. All Sylvanas could do now was watch. And _hope_.

Valeera kept her stance from the last round, but was slower on her feet, her footwork almost non-existent. Jaina eyed the Champion cautiously before stepping in, attempting to close in and land a hit on Valeera. The Crimson Assassin evaded as best she could, parrying the blows from that she couldn’t escape. Despite being off her own rhythm, Jaina was relentless, desperate to catch Valeera out.

The Crimson Assassin finally saw her next opening: she would counter Jaina’s left with her right. Valeera still had her reach and speed advantage. She knew her right cross would reach Jaina before the latter’s left could land. Her opponent was becoming more sluggish with each new punch she threw. To Valeera, she had already won the match.

Jaina dashed in. The Blood Elf responded as planned, but overcommitted to her right cross. Jaina’s left found Valeera’s jaw, dealing a staggering blow to the champ. The smaller woman then threw in her right. It was a clean hit that sent Valeera crashing against the ropes. Immediately the defending champ raised her fists and gritted her teeth. She threw straight lefts and rights to stave off her opponent, only to be evaded by Jaina’s repeated bobs and weaves.

Valeera couldn’t move. Her challenger’s hard hitting punches were making her knees give away. And she was cornered. Jaina started to throw in punches at Valeera’s exposed jaw as she weaved back and forth. From Jaina’s increasing momentum and her body weight quickly shifting from one foot to the other, she slammed hard punches into Valeera from left and right. The Blood Elf could no longer counter, nor could she guard against Jaina’s shield-breaking blows. Valeera was already trapped against the ropes. Jaina dove low and sprung back up, delivering her full weight into her punches and repeated continuously.

The World Champion was being hung out to dry, and Jaina did not slow down. Valeera’s mouthpiece had flown out from her mouth and her arms were lowered. Her body swayed to Jaina’s smash to the head before her knees finally gave out. The crowd fell silent as the dull sound coming from Jaina’s earth-shattering punches to Valeera’s skull echoed throughout the stadium. The challenger finally stopped her rolling barrage and stepped back, watching the champ fall to her knees, her eyes half-closed as she finally hit the canvas.

The referee rushed in, immediately checking for any response. She signalled for the ringside doctor, then quickly rose and ran to Jaina’s side. She hoisted Jaina’s arm high for the world to see.

_Winner and new World Champion! Jaina Proudmoore!_

The crowd erupted to greet her with a roaring applause. Right then and there, a new champion was born. Jaina looked absolutely dumbfounded, unable to really process her victory with the adrenaline still coursing through her. She was quickly lifted off her feet, and onto the shoulders of Vor’Athil and Sheldaris, the other two crew members under Sylvanas’ leadership. The crowd only cheered louder in response, chants of her name ringing out across the stadium. “Jaina! Jaina! Jaina!”

Jaina gave the crowd her victory smile and waved back before she was set back down to meet her coach. Soft lips met Jaina’s. She leaned into Sylvanas’ kiss as she felt strong arms circling around her waist.

“You scared me,” Sylvanas said.

“I know,” said Jaina with a smile, “but I did it, Sylvanas!”

Jaina pulled away from Sylvanas to hug her only two other crew members, before the little team huddled in to celebrate their victory together.

_Well done, Jaina. You really showed them._

  


**Author's Note:**

> If you've come this far, thanks for reading. Rest assured that I'm never writing another fic again :3 massive respect to fanfic writers. Idk how y'all do this.


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